Welcome, welcome, welcome to the only column that is Phat and Daily. Didn't I tell everyone that news would come out of the WCW meetings? I deserve a medal for predicting it! Well, I'm sure you predicted that too. Hmmm. Well, send me a medal, anyway, cause my birthday is Saturday. Whoo!

Recently, I rented the classic NWA event Great American Bash 1989, because I was bored one day and I was looking for something to review. Well, the video rentals just aren't buying up the new wrestling videos, and I've reviewed everything possible that they feature. So I just grabbed a classic, especially cause I was craving some Great Muta vs. Sting action. The card also features Ricky Steamboat vs. Lex Luger, in which Steamboat worked his ass off the make the match look good. I truly miss the Dragon. Also, it featured the strong main event of Terry Funk vs. Ric Flair, which was oldschool at its best! The event also featured Jim Cornette vs. Paul E. Dangerously in a Tuxedo match, which could match up with the Evening Gown match that Brisco and Patterson put on. Funny to see Paul Heyman back then.

I suggest, that if you're a wrestling fan of good matches, then rent ANYTHING from 1989 from the NWA. Especially Chi-town 1989, which is a personal favorite of mine. It's truly some of the best wrestling you'll ever see, in my opinion. The great work of Flair, Steamboat, Terry Funk, Great Muta, Sting, and even Lex Luger, along with an incredible tag division, make this a great era for the Turner station wrestling.

Enough lecturing about the old days, on to the PDC.

Daily Apples

-AOL/Time Warner has decided to up their buyouts from 30 cents on the dollar to 50 cents on the dollar to the Million dollar makers in WCW. Yeah right, do you really expect a guy making $1-3 million a year to take HALF of what he earns? Please. Time Warner better up the buyout or give the wrestlers a FULL buyout, because they let stupid Eric Bischoff hand off high salaries to wrestlers. It's their own fault, so let's have them pay for it. They could have been responsible in 1998 when they were losing the ratings war, but they were too lazy to step in and fix the problem.

-I keep hearing stuff about certain former ECW wrestlers joining WCW, or whatever. For all of their entrances, don't expect instant success like every ECW has the burden of when they enter a new federation. Yeah, I'll admit that I've been a part of this, but I've become wise in my final days as a 20 year old. Just let them grow... the big expectations on Tazz have totally pissed off his fans on what the WWF has done with him, and the same lately with Spike. Just be glad they will be having jobs and the OPPORTUNITY to showcase their skills.

-Why exactly is the WWF keeping Johnny Ace for the creative team? Wasn't he the head booker of WCW that pushed the hell out of Rick Steiner out of friendship and just providing boring storylines that made Nitro score their lowest ratings ever? Oh yes, he is! I don't see exactly what good he'll do with the WWF. However, he no longer has those legends to push in WCW, so he MAY actually work for the younger wrestlers for once. Plus, I have a feeling they want to have the man who made the move that DDP, Dudleys, Stone Cold, and others originally based their finishers off of.

-If you didn't catch it earlier, Bruce Hart put out a statement saying that he's willing to work with the WWF again. That's rather modest of him, but what about Bret Hart? Hart is very stubborn on this subject, especially since he was screwed out of the Survivor Series 1997 match, and also for the unfortunate death of Owen Hart. It makes me wonder if Bret will respond to this in his Sharpshooter column, which we'll link this Saturday. I don't really see the Hitman ever considering any incorporations with the WWF. It's quite hard to do when Vince McMahon himself forced a finish he was unaware of for his wrestling career. We'll see this Saturday!

-Honestly, I don't see the WWF pushing Chris Benoit and Chris Jericho, unless they are a permanent tag team. Why? It's not because of the rumors about Triple H trying to bury Jericho and whoever, oh no. Although I believe Jericho is incredibly over with the fans, and a great performer, but he just lacks that extra something to take him to the top. I don't know what it is, but I just always envision him as a midcarder now. He seems to wrestle the same match, too, for every encounter he has. He hasn't really changed much since his incredible debut in 1998. He still acts the same and looks the same. As for Benoit, you know his problems. No charisma, no mic skills, and the majority of the WWF fans could give a flying fuck about his incredible wrestling ability. Sad, but true, because not many fans cheer for him when he wrestles a heel. Nor do they boo him as a heel, unless he fights Jericho, Rock, or Austin.

-What the hell is up with the recent Jerry Lawler comments? Ever since the WWF bought WCW, Jerry Lawler has done nothing but bash Paul Heyman and certain stuff in the WWF, whereas he kept a lid on it before. I guess Lawler is finding out, the hardway, about the tough independent industry, since he had a cushy job at the WWF. Plus, he was probably counting on WCW to someday offer him a sweet deal. Lawler, before the WCW sale, said he enjoyed Paul Heyman as a commentator, and after the sale, he now hates his commentary. Funny how the opinions change after his big money day at WCW is now gone. Keep burning those bridges, Jerry.

-Rumors are now saying that the Undertaker/Kane vs. Steve Austin/Triple H will be for both the IC title and World Title. That wouldn't be a bad idea to add some intrigue to the match, which a few people, somewhat including myself, aren't that pumped for. I wouldn't doubt that the WWF would give the World Tag Titles to Kane/Undertaker to make it titles vs. titles, like the WWF did with Diesel/HBK vs. Owen/Yokozuna, I believe. Especially since the WWF isn't too sure what to do with the current champs, Edge/Christian for Backlash (Note: I have yet to read the spoilers!!).

-As for the Rock telling a reporter or whatever about possibly pursuing acting Full Time. That's actually no surprise, for the Rock has told other reporters (not internet news reporters) that he'll be wrestling for only about 2 or 3 years. His acting seems to have early success, thus far, with the Mummy movies and his very own movie, the "Scorpion King", so it seems very logical. So if you hate the Rock, this is probably good news for you. I'm wondering if the recent ratings drop, for the WWF shows, is because of the Rock's absence... It could be argued, since a lot of fans watch WWF for their People's Champ.